Baby Face
by Happy Lil' Tidbit
Summary: Uh, no. N-O. We are not keeping this kid. Got it memorized?" he said, waving his arms around for emphasis. "But Axel," Roxas said, turning away from the rescued baby for just a second to send Axel a look of I'm-Already-Attached. "I think he needs me."
1. Dumpster Diving

Chapter 1: Dumpster Diving

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. Although the baby is my own creation.

**A/N: Dedicated to The Paper Lady on who gave me the inspiration I needed to write this.**

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It was a warm day in Twilight Town as Axel and Roxas casually walked down the street. Nobody else was around as far as they knew, so it surprised Roxas when he heard a faint sound.

"Hey, Axel?" he said. "Did you hear something?"

"No, I don't think so," Axel replied.

"No, there it is again," Roxas said, stopping Axel. "Listen."

Axel responded by looking at Roxas questionably before listening closely to hear what sounded like crying.

A baby crying.

"Well, where the hell's it coming from, Rox?" Axel asked as he looked around.

"I don't know . . . . This way!" he finally said as he ran toward a far-off wall, dumpsters and trash cans lined up against it. The cries became louder as Roxas lifted the dumpster lid before he tumbled in, garbage breaking his fall.

"You've got to be kidding me," Axel said, not sure if he was referring to the fact that somebody had actually thrown out their baby, or the fact that Roxas had managed to find it in under a minute.

A few seconds later, Roxas surfaced with the odd popsicle stick attached to him as he held a small baby wrapped loosely in a blanket in his arms, still crying, but not as much.

"Is he okay?" Axel asked.

"Yeah," Roxas said. "I think he's just scared."

"So now what?"

"Well, we can't leave him here," he replied as he attempted to get out of the dumpster, finding it hard to do so while holding a baby. Axel took the baby from him as he jumped down to the ground.

"And you suggest . . . ?" Axel asked as he handed the baby back to Roxas.

Roxas looked away, gently bouncing the baby in his arms. "Well, I was thinking that maybe _we _could take care of him."

Axel's eyes widened. "Uh, no. N-O. We are not keeping this kid. Got it memorized?" he said, waving his arms around for emphasis.

"But Axel," Roxas said, turning away from the baby for just a second to send Axel a _look_. Not an angry look, not a weepy look. Just a look of I'm-Already-Attached. "I think he _needs_ me."

Axel wanted to protest, but between Roxas' _look_ and the way he was holding that baby as if to protect it from all the evils in the world (and the fact that they both knew that he'd do anything for Roxas), it was a done deal.

"Okay," he sighed, defeated. "You can keep him."

"Thank you, Axel!" Roxas said as he pulled him into a one-armed hug.

"Yeah, yeah, don't mention it," Axel replied as he pulled the popsicle sticks off of Roxas and tossed them to the side.

"Do you want to hold him?"

"It's okay, you go ahead," Axel said. "So how do you think Xemnas is going to take it?"

"I really don't know," Roxas said, holding the baby even closer. "But I don't think that he'd care since he doesn't have to take care of it."

"I hope you're right, Roxas," Axel said. "So what do you want to call him?"

"Well, I was thinking of naming him Butters," Roxas replied, looking down at the baby's face.

"You didn't think that up as you were wading through that dumpster, did you?"

"If that was the case, then I would have thought of Sticky Popsicle Sticks," he said. "I just think he looks like a Butters."

"Let me see him," Axel said, taking the baby from Roxas. Along with short blond hair, the baby also had big, innocent green eyes. "He looks kind of like you, Roxas. Except he's got green eyes."

"Do you think he looks like a Butters?"

"Sort of, I guess," Axel said as he handed the baby back to Roxas. "And since you found him, you should probably get to name him."

"Then I'm naming him Butters," Roxas said as he started walking off again, Axel beside him.

"You're not gonna make his middle name Stick, are you? Because that's just tacky."

Butters, now tired from his rescue, yawned and snuggled into Roxas' chest before falling asleep.

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**A/N: Yeah, short chapter. And before everybody asks "Why Butters?" and calls out my fondness for South Park (Butters is actually one of my favorite characters), the name actually started out as "Plot Bunny," which was factored to "PB" which was then expanded to "Peanut Butter," which was shortened to "Butters." I've also got something like half of the second chapter written out already, so it shouldn't take too long getting it up (but then again, with exams coming . . . .) Please review!**


	2. They Noticed

Chapter 2: They Noticed

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. I do own the character of Butters in this though.

**A/N: Believe me, luvs. There are worse/weirder names than Butters out there. (coughReesePeanutcough) but I'm glad that you all think that it's baby-like, though. **

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"They're going to notice, Roxas," Axel said as Roxas tried to hide Butters in his Organization coat. "Especially if he starts crying."

"It'll be fine," Roxas said. "I'll just say that I put on some weight."

"Like they'll believe that you've managed to gain seven pounds in two hours."

"Well, what do you suppose we do?" Roxas hissed.

"I don't know!" Axel yelled. "I don't generally run around with people under the age of two!"

Butters let out a whimper before he started crying loudly.

"Now look what you did!" Roxas shouted as he took Butters out of his coat and started bouncing him in his arms in an attempt to calm him down. "It's okay, Butters. It's okay."

Suddenly, Demyx walked down the hall and heard the commotion. "What's going on?" he asked as he turned towards them.

Roxas and Axel's blood turned to ice. "Nothing! Everything's fine!"

"Is someone . . . crying?" Demyx asked as Axel stood in front of Roxas and Butters, trying to hide the baby.

"No," he said, as Demyx tried to look over his shoulder to see what was going on. He eventually did see little Butters in Roxas' arms despite Axel's efforts, however.

He gasped and brought his hand to his mouth in surprise. "I didn't even know you were expecting! Congratulations!"

"HE'S NOT _OURS_, YOU TWIT!" Axel yelled as he punched Demyx in the face, anime-style.

"We found him in a dumpster in Twilight Town," Roxas said. "And Axel, that's really not a good example for the baby."

"What kind of a person would throw out a baby?!" Demyx cried. "That's just terrible! It's a good thing that you found him."

"Yeah, we're calling him Butters."

"Butters?" Demyx repeated. He smiled. "That's cute. How'd you come up with it?"

"Roxas says he just looks like a Butters," Axel replied.

"Can I hold him?"

"Hold what exactly?"

The three of them turned around and saw Zexion all but five feet away from them.

"Roxas and Axel have a baby!" Demyx blurted out as the other two clapped their hands against their faces. "What?"

"Oh, nothing," Roxas said sarcastically. "We were only trying to keep it low key."

"You have a baby?" Zexion said. "Where did you find it?"

"In a dumpster in Twilight Town. His name's Butters."

"You don't say," Zexion said. "Is the Superior aware of this?"

"Well, no," Axel said.

"Can I hold him? Can I hold him?" Demyx asked, practically jumping up and down.

"Promise not to drop him?" Roxas said as he placed Butters in Demyx's outstretched arms. He turned to Zexion. "Please don't tell Xemnas, Zex."

"I won't say anything," Zexion said. "Besides the fact that Demyx just took off."

'With the baby?!"

"It appears so."

Axel and Roxas turned to the spot where Demyx had been previously standing to discover that he had indeed taken off to anybody-knows-where before they turned to eachother with matching looks of fear for their young baby, then began to run though the halls after him, leaving Zexion behind in the dust.

"Bu - I mean, Demyx!" Roxas yelled as he ran like a lunatic, searching everywhere for a trace of either of them.

"Demyx, you get the hell back here right now, or I am selling your sitar on eBay!"

"They eventually found him about a half hour later whimpering in the fetal position against the wall with Butters nowhere in sight.

"Demyx," Roxas began slowly. "Where is Butters?"

Demyx looked up with tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry! I tried my best to keep it a secret from the others! I panicked! I wasn't thinking clearly! If it was anyone else, I would have held onto him! Please, you gotta believe me!"

At this, Axel picked Demyx up by the collar of his coat and slammed him against the wall. "Demyx," he growled, teeth clenched. "Who has Butters?"

Demyx turned away, practically going into hysterics.

"Demyx?" Axel repeated before slamming him into the wall again. "Tell me. _Now._"

Demyx managed to steady his breathing enough to choke out a single name.

"L-Larxene."

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**A/N: Dun dun dunnnnnn . . . . Please review!**


	3. Who Knew?

Chapter 3: Who Knew?

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts.

**A/N: Enjoy!**

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Axel let go of the crying sitarist, letting him fall to the ground. "Larxene?! She's practically sadist!"

"I'm sorry!" Demyx sobbed, not bothering to get up.

"At least it's not Xemnas," Roxas said, slightly relieved, but not by much.

"Yeah, but it's Larxene!" Axel said. "The woman's vicious! She's got voodoo dolls of us, for the love of - "

"I want my baby back!" Roxas cried frantically, his nerves practically shot. "We have to save him!"

"It's okay, Roxas," Axel said as he pulled his best friend into a hug, trying to calm him down (which seemed only fitting since he was the one who pushed him into the hysterics). "We'll get him back I promise."

"I want my baby back!" he cried as he held onto Axel's cloak, tears beginning to fall. "I just want my baby!"

"I'm sorry, Roxas! I really didn't think that this would happen! I'm so sorry!"

"All right!" Axel, the only one who wasn't crying buckets of tears, shouted. "Look, I said we were getting the kid back, we're getting the kid back! So both of you, stop crying! Got it memorized?"

Roxas, still trembling, took a few deep breaths to calm down as Axel wiped away the tears. "Okay," he said. "Okay."

"Demyx," Axel called. "Are you in or out?"

Demyx, although he was scared crapless of Larxene and everyone knew it, stood up carefully and slowly made his way over to the two. "I-I'm in," he said.

"Okay, then," Axel said. "Do you know where Larxene is right now?"

"She's probably in her room," Demyx replied, looking as if he was about to faint."

"Then that's where we'll go," Axel said. "Come on, guys, let's get moving."

"For Butters!" Demyx exclaimed as they all began to walk through the castle, However, since Axel and Roxas really wanted to reach their little bundle of joy faster and Demyx was the only one who was showing any resistance to speed, they grabbed him by the arms and dragged him along as they ran for it.

But when they got within twenty feet of the door, they suddenly stopped, hesitating to go any further. If any of them had hearts, they would be hammering against their chests in anxiety.

"Well, this is it," Axel said. "We're going in."

"My baby," Roxas said, beginning to sound very much like a broken record.

"Well, it's been fun, but I have to go now!" Demyx said as he tried to run off. This only resulted in Axel and Roxas tightening their grips on his arms, thus making Demyx fall on his butt.

"You're not going anywhere!" Axel shouted as he pulled him back up and towards them. "And since you got him kidnapped, you help us get him back!"

Demyx whimpered out of fear, but stayed put.

"Is anyone else being slightly reminded of The Wizard of Oz?" Roxas asked suddenly.

Axel shrugged his shoulders in response. "Okay, let's go."

They walked towards the door gingerly, not fully knowing what to expect of what the Savage Nymph had done to their precious little Butters. When they got closer to the door though, they could hear voices, mostly Larxene's along with what sounded like high-pitched squeals which was probably Butters.

"What's going on? Roxas asked as Axel pressed his ear against the door. "Is my baby okay?"

"He's my baby too," Axel replied quietly as he started to listen through the door. After a few seconds, his eyes widened and he motioned for the other two to come over and listen as well.

"Aren't you just the cutest little thing!" Larxene said in a babyish tone as Butters giggled and laughed. "Yes, you are! Yes, you are! I'm gonna tickle you! I'm gonna tickle you! Yeah, you're a happy baby, aren't you? I could just eat you all up!"

Demyx's eyes widened and he turned to the other two, their eyes also wide with disbelief. "She's going to eat him!" he whispered in panic before opening the door with so much force that it slammed against the wall, leaving a fair-sized dent. "LARXENE! DON'T!"

Larxene looked up from pretend-eating Butters' fingers to see the three boys standing there, surprise and shock written all over their faces. "What?!"

Roxas pointed at the smiling Butters in her arms. "You have my baby," he said weakly.

"And you're being _nice_ to it," Axel added.

Larxene put her hand on her hip. "Is that a problem?!"

"N-no, it's okay," Demyx said, pale as a sheet. "Roxas and Axel just want him back now."

"Baby Face here? How come?"

"His name is Butters!" Roxas cried. "And I want him back! He's my baby!"

"_Your _baby?" Larxene repeated. "How is he _your _baby?"

"Axel and I found him in a dumpster in Twilight Town," Roxas explained, near tears. "Please give him back."

"You found him in a dumpster?! Seriously?!" Larxene exclaimed. "At least you gave him a bath, right?"

"Uhh...." Axel said.

Larxene's eyes widened and her mouth hung open. "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?! Did you ever stop to think that dumpsters are generally filled with GARBAGE?! He could get SICK! What is WRONG with you?!"

Roxas couldn't take it anymore. He fell to his knees and started to cry. "I'm a failure!" he bawled as Demyx rocked himself in the fetal position in a far-off corner.

"I can't believe it," Larxene mused. "You didn't even give birth to him and you're suffering from Post Partum Depression."

"Larxene, give him back," Axel said, growing tired of everybody breaking into tears. "We'll give him a bath and everything."

"Yeah, right!" Larxene snapped, holding the baby (whom was now trying to pull at her hair) away from him. "You probably forgot to pick up bottles and diapers too! Ow! No, Baby, mustn't pull!"

Axel gawked at her. "The hell are those?"

"YOU ARE HOPELESS!" Larxene screamed, which resulted in Butters crying again. Larxene turned to him and held him close, snuggling him. "Oh, don't cry Butters! I'm not mad at _you_!"

"We were going to get some, but you kidnapped him!" Roxas wailed. "We were going to give him a bath too!"

"Then go and get some!" Larxene said as she quite literally kicked Roxas, Axel, and Demyx out of her room, closing the door behind them.

"Well, can I have my baby back?!" Roxas asked for the upteenth time.

"When you get back!" Larxene shouted through the door. "And for the love of all things good, pick this kid up some clothes! He's got nothing but this blanket! Don't you, Baby Face?"

"His name's _Butters_!" Roxas shouted.

"Well, at least we know that she won't hurt him," Axel said.

"But...my baby!"

"Relax, Roxas," Axel sighed as dragged him and Demyx (who at this point had fainted) away from the door. "We just have to make a quick shopping trip first."

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**A/N: They've **_**almost**_** got him back.... ^^' And yes, the "She's gonna eat him!" was inspired by you guys.**


	4. Shopping Trip

Chapter 4: Shopping Trip

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. Butters, however, is my own creation.

**A/N: I am back with a new chapter! Sorry it took so long.**

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Oh, how innocent those words had sounded.

After dropping a passed-out Demyx off at his room with a "thud," Axel and Roxas had left for Twilight Town to get the baby items that Larxene had accused (and yelled at) them for not having.

As soon as they entered the store, they immediately felt out of place. It seemed like a simple shop from the outside, with the sign reading, "Baby Boutique." That should have been their first clue, but they didn't really noticed, considering that they were too busy worrying about Butters, so they only really caught the "Baby" part. However, as they stood there in the store, they stood there in what could be considered the feeling of having all your dignity ripped out of your being. Everything was pink and frilly. Or frilly and pink. It all depended on how you wanted to see it. And everybody in the place was a young couple that was either expecting or had a small baby with them, and the employees were generally overly thrilled and would make a big deal out of everything. It wasn't too long until such an employee found them, probably assuming that they needed assistance by the looks of absolute terror on their faces.

"Can I help you?" the employee asked as she walked over to the two, a large grin plastered on her face.

'Uh...yeah," Axel said, not bothering to look at her. "You see, we have this kid."

The employee clapped her hands together. "Really? What's it's name?"

"Butters," Roxas replied, not really finding the energy to go on about his 2 hour life story.

"Butters?" the employee repeated, raising an eyebrow. "That's a...unique name. So do you have any questions?"

"Yeah," Axel replied, still looking off into the distance. "What exactly do babies eat?"

The unnamed employee just sort of stared at him in utter disbelief for a few seconds before answering, "Baby food...?"

"Is there anything here that's not pink?" Roxas asked. "Or frilly?"

"We might have something," the employee replied, the smile on her face again. "I'll show you around."

"Yeah, okay," Roxas said, not knowing what else to say.

"You might want to get a cart."

"What for?" Axel asked. "We only have the one kid."

"Axel, just get a cart," Roxas said, somewhat exasperated.

Axel sighed, grabbed a nearby cart and began to push it along, trying his best to look inconspicuous. Even though the other customers looked and acted as if they couldn't care less, it didn't make Axel feel any more at ease.

"So what is it that you need exactly?" the cheery employee asked as she walked them through the aisles.

"Well, it depends," Axel said, looking up for the first time after a few minutes. "What exactly do babies - "

"Diapers, bottles, formula, and clothes," Roxas cut in before more Axel said something that could land Child Services at their front door. "Basically the necessities."

"Okay, then. Follow me!" the employee said as she started to lead them through some more aisles before stopping at an aisle near the cash. "This should have what you're looking for."

"What about clothes?" Axel asked, looking around.

"Oh, those are on the racks on the other side of the store," the employee replied, jerking her thumb over her shoulder.

"You mean we have to walk around the store _again_?!" Axel complained before Roxas gave him a glare, shutting him up.

"Just grab whatever looks useful," Roxas said as he started to walk away. "I'm going to go find some clothes."

"Wait, what?!" Axel exclaimed. "Roxas, don't leave me here! Roxas? Roxas!"

Axel, now deserted and alone save for an empty shopping cart (the employee had followed Roxas), turned to the shelves of baby items, completely clueless.

"Whatever looks useful, eh?" Axel said to himself, remembering what his blond, little friend had told him moments ago. Well, the first few items were easy enough as he tossed a package of diapers, a few bottles and a container of formula into the cart, but after that, he didn't have a clue, and with nobody around to ask, "What exactly do babies..." it left him even more in the dark. After a while of standing there stupefied, he eventually just came to the judgement of, "Is it useful? Sure, why not?" as long as it didn't seem entirely ridiculous and was under forty munny.

Anyways, while Axel was busy filling the cart with things that could be considered a little beyond his understanding, Roxas was busy over by the clothing racks, looking for a few nice (non-pink and frilly) outfits.

That were affordable.

After a few glimpses at shocking price tags (that would have given him a heart attack if possible) he turned to the employee and asked, "Do you have anything that's not so expensive?"

"Well, we have this bin," she replied, motioning a box with her hands.

"Where is it?"

"Right over there," she said as she pointed over to a somewhat large black bin off to the side marked, "clearance."

Roxas walked over to it, breathing a sigh of relief at the welcoming sight of articles of clothing as low as ten munny. It was obvious as to why most of the items had found a place to call home there. Some of the pieces were just ugly, but amazingly, a few of them weren't that bad. Then, as he pulled out a pair of overalls, he saw it.

All he could see at first was a little bright, blue sleeve sticking out of a mass of deep green. Catching his interest, he put the overalls over his other arm that was also holding three sleepers and a package of baby socks (because the last thing he wanted was for his little baby to have cold feet!) as he pulled the blue sleeve out of the bargain bin, revealing a little blue shirt with a red collar. But it wasn't just any blue shirt. For this particular blue shirt had a cute little baby ducky on it, wearing a little tophat to boot. And as everybody knew, if a cute animal was wearing a tophat, it was instantly a thousand times cuter. Or at least that's what Roxas (and most likely Demyx if he was there to see it) had thought as he added the shirt to the pile on his arm, and after grabbing some shoes in the next aisle over (hoping that they were the right size at seventy munny) he walked over to the cash to wait for Axel to finish up so they could pay for their stuff, leave, and then get Butters back from Larxene's surprisingly maternal clutches.

He didn't have to wait for long, because Axel showed up just a few seconds later, dragging the cart behind him before swinging it around, putting it between him and Roxas. "So whatchya got there, Mommy?"

Roxas put the items on the counter. "Some sleepers, a pair of - 'Mommy?!'"

"Well, you're obviously more of the mothering type than me," Axel said as he started to unload the cart.

"Yeah, but," Roxas began to protest, but shook his head deciding it would be best to just let it go. "So what did you find?"

"To tell you the truth, I don't know exactly," Axel admitted, scratching the back of his head. "I got all the stuff that you wanted me to, though."

"So that'll be three hundred munny please," the cashier (not to be confused with the employee, for she was off somewhere's else) said with a smile, making the two boys believe that grinning was part of the uniform.

"Are you serious?" Roxas asked.

"How about we just pay you with the kid? Ow! It was a _joke_, Roxas!"

"Well, it wasn't funny," Roxas said as he reached for his wallet after stomping hard on Axel's foot with his heel.

"Anyway, we're having a special this week," the cashier said. "If you spend over a hundred munny, you get a free pacifier."

Axel raised his eyebrow. "What's that?"

"Basically, if the baby gets fussy, you put it in the baby's mouth, they suck on it, and it calms them down," the cashier explained. "Although, there's been some arguments over the pros and cons of - "

"SOLD!" Axel declared as soon as his brain registered that it would make the kid stop crying on future occasions.

Roxas just sighed irritably and put the money down on the counter before picking up the bags and walking off. Axel pocketed the pacifier and went out after him.

"Hey, Roxas! Wait up!" he called just after he got outside.

Roxas ignored him and continued walking.

"You okay, Roxas?" Axel asked as he caught up with him. "Roxas? Is something bothering you? Roxas?"

Suddenly, Roxas stopped and turned around, glaring at the redhead. 'Yes, there's something bothering me!"

"Well, what is it?"

"You!"

Axel stepped back, shocked. "Me?"

"Yes, you!" Roxas fumed. "Your attitude! Like Butters is some kind of terrible burden!"

"What makes you think that I think that?!"

"Didn't you hear yourself in there?! You even complained about walking around the store! It's not about you or me any more! Don't you get it?!"

"Yes, I get it!" Axel said, also upset. "You know, you've changed a lot since that baby came along."

"How so?"

"Like almost every word out of your mouth has been connected to him in some way."

"Maybe because we just got him this morning, and Larxene kidnapped him?!"

"Yeah, but still...."

"What? I'm always going to be thinking about him?! Well, obviously! He's my baby!"

Axel turned away. "Fine," he whispered quietly. "I see how it is."

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**A/N: Next chapter, they get the kid back, I swear! Please review!**


	5. They Realize

Chapter 5: They Realize

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, although Butters is my own creation.

**A/N: Sorry that it took so long. Long chapter is long.**

* * *

The two wordlessly turned down an empty alleyway and walked down to the very end before Roxas set the bags in his right hand down to the ground, enabling him to open a portal to the Castle. It would have been easier, he supposed, if he asked Axel to open it for them, but he was still angry with him, so it was out of the question. Picking up the bags again, he walked through the newly opened portal which led to the door of Larxene's room, Axel behind him, glaring. He ignored him and kicked the door a few times.

"Who is it?" the supposedly Savage Nymph asked, the sentence laced with a tone of cheerfulness. The two boys twitched.

"It's us," Roxas said. "We got the stuff."

"Excellent timing," she said as she opened the door. In her free arm was Butters wrapped in a fluffy, blue towel, smiling away. "I just finished giving him a bath." She looked at the bags Roxas was carrying. "So which one has the diapers in it?"

"I think it's this one," he said as he held the plastic bag out to her.

"Thank you!" she said as she took it from him before disappearing into her room, slamming the door behind her closed. A minute or so later, she opened the door again, Butters with a fresh diaper and wearing the little blue ducky shirt.

"Well, at least he'll be clothed on a regular basis," she said. "What else did you get? Food? Bottles?"

"Yeah, we got all that," Roxas said. "Can I have my baby now?"

"Well, what about a crib?"

"What the hell is that?" Axel asked, the first time he'd spoken in a while.

"It's what the baby sleeps in," Roxas said, mentally kicking himself for forgetting to get one.

"So you don't have one?" Larxene asked as Butters ignored them all, focusing instead on sucking on his fingers. "So where's he supposed to sleep? On the floor?!"

"Well, what about a basket, or something?" Roxas suggested.

"A basket?" she repeated. "Like when you find them on a doorstep?"

"It'll just be temporary," Roxas said. "And we could always dress it up so that it doesn't really look like a basket."

"Well, what kind of basket are we talking about here?"

"Just one of those short, rectangular laundry baskets," Roxas said. "Can I have - "

"In a second, you broken record!" Larxene yelled. Butters' eyes widened at the sudden outburst and they started to water with unshed tears. Larxene quickly caught this, and said, entirely in parantese, "Oh, don't cry, baby! I'm not yelling at you. Here, you want your Roxy to hold you? Okay, here you go."

"Butters!" Roxas exclaimed as Larxene handed the baby over to him. He dropped the bags he was holding, held him close and kissed the top of his head. "I've missed you so much!"

"It's only been something like an hour," Axel mumbled.

"Now don't lose him this time," Larxene said.

"Don't worry, I won't," Roxas said.

"Yeah, you'd better not. And does Xemnas know about this?"

"No..."

"Well, then be careful of that too," she said. "Because if you slip up and they make him go back, I'll never forgive you."

"I won't forgive myself either," Roxas said, holding the baby close. "I'll go find a laundry basket."

"Yeah, okay," Larxene said. She turned towards the brooding redhead a few feet away. "And while he's doing that, you take all this stuff to where you're keeping him, okay?"

"My room." Roxas called over his shoulder as he started to walk off to the laundry room. He could hear Axel muttering under his breath, but he ignored it for the time being considering that the sound of rustling plastic probably meant that Larxene had already handed the stuff over to Axel, and since nobody was yelling, he figured that it was okay.

He hid the baby in his arms, hoping that the fabric in the sleeves of his Organization Cloak would keep the other members from sensing him, and looked carefully ahead and around each hallway before walking down it, making a normally five minute walk into something more like ten. When he finally got there, he opened the door, just reached for a basket, and -

"Is someone there?"

Leave it to the wind element to pick up on a barely noticeable current from a door, Roxas thought. "Uh, yeah. Do you need this basket for anything right now?"

"What do you need it for?" Xaldin asked from the other side.

"To put something in it."

"And what would that be?"

"You know...something," Roxas said, trying to sound innocent as he tried to cover the "something" even more. "Look, you'll get it back in a day or so."

"What is it, Roxas?" Xaldin persisted. "And why are you hiding behind the door like that?"

"Just admiring it," Roxas lied terribly. Suddenly, the door swung wide open, leaving Roxas in total view as he stood there like a deer caught in headlights.

"Roxas," the Whirlwind Lancer began, staring at his arms. "What is that you're holding?"

"Nothing that you'd really be interested in," Roxas replied somewhat truthfully, taking a few steps backwards.

"It looks suspiciously like a human baby."

Roxas swore in his head. "Yeah? And what's it too you?"

"It's my laundry basket that you're using."

"True," Roxas admitted.

"So," Xaldin said as he walked over to where Roxas was standing. "Where did you get this little one?"

"Axel and I found him in a dumpster in Twilight Town this morning. There was nobody around, so we took him."

Xaldin looked at Roxas, then at the little baby in his arms, looking ever so innocently up at him. He looked back up at Roxas, dark smile on his face. "Getting more ruthless everyday, aren't they?"

"Well, yeah, he could have died," Roxas said, readjusting his grip on the infant.

"You might as well come in here for a bit," Xaldin said. "There's a blanket somewhere that I think would be ideal for lining."

"Well, thanks," Roxas said as he followed the older man inside.

"It was around here somewhere," he said to himself as he looked through some cabinets. "By the way, what are you calling him?"

"Butters."

Xaldin seemed to be thinking that over, mouthing out the name before he replied, "Please tell me that that's a shorter form of something."

"No, that's his name."

Xaldin stopped for a moment to let that sink in. "You'd better hope that he grows up to be one tough kid."

"He'll be fine."

Xaldin shrugged and turned back to his blanket search. "I think I found it," he said, and pulled out a light blue blanket, slightly padded, folded it to a smaller size, then fitted it in the bottom of the basket. "That should do rather nicely."

"Thanks, Xaldin," Roxas said.

"Just promise me that you'll eventually buy the infant an actual crib." He opened a portal beside him. "Now get moving before you get caught."

Roxas nodded at this, but as he reached for the basket, he thought that it would be easier if he put Butters inside and carried him out in it, but when he put him inside and pulled his arms away, the baby the baby boy began to whimper before crying loudly.

"Oh, Butters, it's okay," Roxas said as he picked him up and started rubbing his back in an attempt to calm him down. "I'm right here. I'm not going to leave you."

"It makes you wonder, doesn't it?" Xaldin mused. "You finding him could possibly be the best thing that's ever happened to him, Roxas."

"Well, somebody had to."

"I suppose, but he depends on you and you do seem to like him some."

"He's my baby," Roxas said.

"Not biologically though," Xaldin pointed out.

"You're argument's not that strong, considering that it was probably one of his relatives or something that threw him out in the first place."

"It wasn't supposed to be one," he objected. "I was just stating a fact." He waited a while before adding, "You're raising him with Axel, correct?"

Roxas hunched his shoulders at the comment. "That was the idea," he said, slightly bitter. "We went shopping a while ago and he was just so immature and whiny."

"And what did you do about it?"

"I stepped on his foot," Roxas admitted. "And yelled at him in the middle of the street."

"And that's _not_ immature?"

"Roxas shrugged his shoulders, somewhat ashamed. "Probably not."

"Roxas," Xaldin began, "has it ever occurred to you that Axel has never been in this kind of situation before? It's not like adoption is commonplace here."

"He didn't even know what to feed him."

"Did he assume that he just swallowed the air?"

"...No."

"Is he just sitting around not doing anything?"

Roxas thought back and tried to remember just one time when Axel had just stood there completely idle to leave him on his own. However, the more he thought about it, the more he seemed to notice the pattern of the older redhead taking the lead as all he himself could do was start crying. "No," he mumbled. "He's not."

"I'm only going to tell you this once, so pay attention," Xaldin said. "If Axel is doing something that's useful in any way, shape, or form, don't yell at him. Actually, just don't yell at him, ever. Neither of you are experts at this, and all your yelling is going to do is make him angry, and you look like a jerk."

Roxas couldn't think of anything good to say to that.

"And he has pointed out that he despises baby-sitting, so for him to actually be raising an infant really is something," Xaldin continued.

"I get your point," Roxas said, eyes downcast. "Look, thanks for the basket. I'll bring it back in a while."

Using one hand to hold Butters against his shoulder and the other to hold the basket against his hip, Roxas walked through the portal, stepping into his room. Near his bed, he could see that the plastic handles on the bag s were slightly singed. Just how upset _was_ Axel?

xXx

Roxas looked at the clock, the neon lights telling him that it was almost one in the morning. He groaned and turned to trying to calm down the screaming baby in his arms.

"Please, Butters," he begged as he gently bounced the child as he paced the room. "I've told you so many times that you're perfectly safe, you're not in a dumpster, and I'm not going to leave you. I've fed you, I've changed you, I've sang to you, I've rocked you, now _why won't you sleep_?!"

Butters just continued to cry.

Roxas sighed and went back to pacing the floor and trying to convince himself that since the infant had been crying for three or four hours solid, he had to fall asleep sometime soon. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Hair standing on end, he reached for the doorknob, praying that it wasn't Saïx, or Xemnas.

"Geez, Roxas," Larxene yawned, rubbing her eyes. "It's the middle of the night. What's wrong with Baby Face?"

"He won't stop crying," Roxas practically sobbed. "I've tried everything."

"Obviously, you've forgotten to try one thing," Larxene stated.

"What?" Roxas asked, Butters still crying.

"Have you tried handing him over to Axel for the night?"

"I don't know if that's such a good idea," Roxas said. "We had a fight earlier, so..."

"Did he say that he never wanted to see Baby Face again?"

"No, but - "

"But, nothing!" Larxene interrupted. "Just march on over, say you've been up all night, hand him over and leave."

"I'm really not sure," Roxas said.

"Look, I'll drop him off if you want. And don't worry about Saix. He's had his room entirely sound-blocked ever since Demyx moved in and started playing his CDs when he couldn't get to sleep that one time."

"Why are you being nice?" Roxas asked, too tired to stop the words from coming out.

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? I'M ALWAYS NICE!" she shouted. "Here, let me see the kid. See Axel tomorrow and he'll give him back, okay? Bye!"

Before Roxas could fully register what was going on around him or protest, Larxene and Butters were gone, along with the basket-crib. Having learned early on at one point that Larxene was almost impossible to stop when she was doing something, he turned back to his bed and and climbed, pulling the blanket over his head. He couldn't sleep though, for he was too nervous thinking about how the fire element would handle it.

XXX

Axel opened his eyes slowly, the sound of someone knocking on his door pulling him out of slumber.

"Who is it?" he asked groggily.

"Larxene. I've got something for you. Open the door."

As soon as she said it, as if on cue, Axel could hear a familiar cry. Irritated, he kicked off the sheets and opened the door. "What is this?" he started bitterly. "Roxas finally had enough of his little bundle of joy?"

"He's exhausted, so I told him that you would look after Butters tonight," Larxene explained. "He's been crying all night. Try not to shake him."

"Sure, fine, whatever," Axel said sharply. "I can handle it better than he can anyway."

"Like I said," she began, dropping the basket to the ground before holding out the crying baby. "Try not to shake him."

Axel glared at her as he took him from her. "You can leave now."

"Alright, don't get your panties in a twist," she said as she turned around and walked into a portal. Axel kicked the door closed with his foot.

"So why are you crying?" he asked the baby in his arms. "You've got your Roxas practically wrapped around your little finger. You're all he talks about now, you know that? He just yells at me. Kinda funny, considering that he cries just about as much as you do."

Butters just continued to cry. Axel sighed and put him up against his shoulder, rubbing his back.

"Come on, kid, you have to sleep," Axel pleaded, sitting down on his bed. "Are you just doing this to drive me crazy? Is that it? Rub some salt into the wounds?" He reached for his coat that was resting on a nearby chair and pulled out the pacifier from one of his pockets. He put it in the baby's mouth, but he almost instantly spit it out. Not able to see clearly in the dark, Axel flicked on a nearby lamp, giving him enough light to see it not too far off. As he reached down with one arm to pick it up, he realized that the sound of crying had died down somewhat. For a second, he thought that he'd finally gone deaf, but when he turned to his shoulder, it looked like Butters was finally calming down. After looking at the baby, the lamp, and then the baby again, it suddenly clicked in his mind.

"That's it?" he asked in disbelief. "A night light? Seriously? That's what you were screaming about? You're just scared of the dark?"

As if to answer his question, Butters yawned and closed his eyes. Eyes wide, Axel carefully took him off his shoulder and cradled him in his arms.

"You really _are_ just a helpless little guy, aren't you?" he whispered. "Really, you're so ... _tiny." _As if to emphasize the point, he traced his finger around the little hand, resting the tip in his palm. It surprised him when the little fingers closed around it firmly. Too stunned to pull away, he backed up against the wall, pulling the little child up closer to him, noticing for the first time just how vulnerable, delicate, and dependant he really was. How much he really needed someone to take care of him.

How much Roxas was right.

Hitting him like a ton of bricks, he groaned and hit the back of his head against the wall behind him. He would have a lot of apologizing and explaining to do in the morning.

XXX

When Roxas woke up from his restless sleep, the first thing he did was remember why it was so restless in the first place. Seeing how it was a reasonable hour into the morning, he quickly dressed into his Organization cloak and cautiously walked down to Axel's room, not knowing what to expect. He did take it as a good sign however, that Axel didn't barge into his room, leave Butters, and then storm back out again.

When he got there, he knocked on the door gingerly, as if he was a bomb technician not entirely sure if the bomb was a dud, or not.

"Who is it?" Axel called from the other side. He didn't _sound_ upset.

"It's me. Roxas."

"Yeah, I was waiting for when you were going to show up. Come in. There's actually something that I wanted to talk to you about."

Roxas opened the door, careful to close the door behind him as he stepped in. He sighed. "Look, I'm sorry about the way I've been acting. I shouldn't have yelled at you yesterday. Or stepped on your foot. Especially since you're really the only one who's useful in a crisis."

"Actually, Roxas," Axel, who was presently feeding Butters a bottle, began. "I was also wrong. But I think I understand it better now."

"Understand what?" Roxas asked, moving to sit next to the redhead on the bed.

He sighed. "You know, I was jealous."

"Of a baby?" Roxas asked, slightly bewildered.

"Well, I'm not anymore, but I was. When you said that you wanted to keep him, I said we could, because I wanted to make you happy, but as it turns out, babies need a lot of attention, and you kept yelling at me, so I felt like . . . you . . . didn't . . . care about me . . . anymore."

Roxas just sort of looked at him for a minute. Finally he said, "Axel, you're my best friend. Yeah, there's a baby now, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop caring about you. And I _am_ sorry for being a basket case earlier. And I really do appreciate you."

"It's okay," Axel said. "And I figured some stuff out, too."

"What kind of stuff?"

Axel turned to him and in a quiet voice said, "This is our _son_. Well, in an adopted sense, but still. It's a little life and we're responsible for it. I mean, look at him. He's a tiny baby. A tiny baby that was thrown in a dumpster."

Roxas nodded. "So are you scared at all?"

"Scared? More like terrified. Got it memorized?" Axel replied.

Roxas laughed a bit, and turned to look at the little baby. "So what was making him scream like that? Did you find out?"

"Considering your element, you're going to be kicking yourself for this one," Axel said with a smile. "It turns out that he's afraid of the dark and needed a light on."

Roxas smirked despite himself and shook his head. "You're right," he said. "I should have figured that one out."

* * *

**A/N: Long chapter is **_**definitely**_** long. Also, I'm over one thousand hits on this story, thank you so much! ^^ And happy holidays! Whether it be Christmas, Hannukah, Ramadan, or anything else! Please Review!**


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